In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London

Charlie Burns, King of Bacon Street

May 11, 2010

by the gentle author

You may not have seen Charlie Burns, the oldest man on Brick Lane, but I can guarantee that he has seen you. Seven days a week, Charlie, who is ninety four years old, sits in the passenger seat of a car in Bacon St for half of each day, watching people come and go in Brick Lane. The windscreen is a frame through which Charlie observes the world with undying fascination and it offers a deep perspective upon time and memory, in which the past and present mingle to create a compelling vision that is his alone.

For a couple of hours yesterday, I sat in the front seat beside Charlie, following the line of his gaze and, with the benefit of a few explanations, I was able to share some fleeting glimpses of his world. The car, which belongs to Charlie’s daughter Carol, is always parked a few yards into Bacon St, outside the family business, C.E. Burns & Sons, where they deal in second hand furniture and paper goods. Carol runs this from a garden shed constructed inside the warehouse, and lined with a rich collage of family photographs, while Charlie presides upon the passage of custom from the curbside.

Many passersby do not even the notice the man in the anonymous car who sits impassive like Old Father Time, taking it all in. Yet to those who live and work in these streets, Charlie is a figure who commands the utmost respect and, as I sat with Charlie, our conversation was constantly punctuated by a stream of affectionate greetings from those that pay due reverence to the king of Bacon St, the man who has been there since 1915.

The major landmark upon the landscape of Charlie’s vision is a new white building on the section of Bacon St across the other side of Brick Lane. But Charlie does not see what stands there today, he sees the building which stood there before, where he grew up with his brothers Alfie, Harry and Teddy, and his sister, Marie – and where the whole family worked together in the waste paper merchants’ business started by Charlie’s grandfather John in 1864.

“We lived on this street all our life. We were city people. We all grew up here. We were making our way. We were paper merchants. We all went round collecting in the City of London and we sold it to Limehouse Paper Mills. There was no living in it. Prices were zero. Eventually we went broke, but we still carried on because it was what we did. Then, in 1934, prices picked up. We were moving forward, up and up and up. We carried on through the war. We never stopped. This was my life. We used to own most of the houses in this street. They were worth nothing then. They couldn’t give them away.”

Once the business grew profitable, the family became involved in boxing, the sport that was the defining passion of the Burns brothers, who enjoyed a longstanding involvement with the Repton Boxing Club in Cheshire St where Tony Burns, Charlie’s nephew, is chief coach today.

“Somehow or other, we got into boxing and then we were running the Bethnal Green Men’s Club and then we took a floor in a pub. We were unstoppable. We used to box the Racing Men’s Club. We used to box at Epsom with all the top jockeys. We made the Repton Boxing Club. I was president for twenty years and I took them to the top of the world. When we joined there was only one boy in the club. (He still comes over and sees me.) We built them up, my brothers, myself and friends. They all done a little bit of boxing.

We had some wonderful boxers come here. They were all poor people in them days, they were only too glad to get into something. We used to take all the kids with nothing and get them boxing. They played some strokes but they never did anything bad. Everything we done was for charity. We were young people and we were business people and we had money to burn.

All of the notorious people used to come to our shows at the York Hall. We had the Kray brothers and Judy Garland and Liberace. I remember the first time I met Tom Mix, the famous cowboy from the silent films. We met all the top people because this was the place to be. I had a private audience with the Pope and he gave me a gold medal because of all the work we did for charity.”

You would think that the present day might seem disappointing by contrast with vibrant memories like these, but Charlie sits placidly in the front seat of the parked car every day, fascinated by the minutiae of the contemporary world and at home at the centre of his Bacon St universe.

“This place, years ago, was one of the toughest places there was, but one of the best places to be.” he announced, and I could not tell if Charlie was talking to himself, or to me, or the windscreen, until he charged me with the rhetorical question, “Where else can you go these days?” I was stumped to give Charlie a credible reply. Instead, I peered through the windscreen at the empty street, considering everything he had said, as if in expectation that Charlie’s enraptured version of Bacon St might become available to me too.

Charlie reminded me again,“We were paper merchants. We were moving forward.”, as he did several times during our conversation, recalling an emotional mantra that had become indelibly printed in his mind. It was an incontestable truth. We were King Lear and his fool sitting in a car beside Brick Lane. Becoming aware of my lone reverie, Charlie turned to reassure me. “I’ll get some of the boys round for a chat and we’ll go into it in depth,” he promised, with quiet largesse, his eyes glistening and thinking back over all he had told me,”This is just a little bit for starters”.

On the wall of Carol’s shed, in the yellowed photo at the centre, taken in Bacon St in 1951, you can see Charlie’s brothers Alfie and Teddy, with Charlie on the right.

The Burns family in 1951, with Charlie again in the right.

The redoubtable Carol Burns in her shed with the photo of her Uncle Tony, president of the Repton Boxing Club, being honoured by the Queen.

Charlie’s good friend and neighbour Asad Khan sent in this photo of the two of them together.

Please do let Mr Burns know that his view of life has been appreciated by a reader of yours all the way from New York. I would call Mr Burns a true historian. I would call you a sensitive seeker of treasure.

I can definitely state that this is such a wonderful article.
Passing by Brick Lane and Bacon St virtually on a daily basis I have seen the ‘World Of Burns’ in action.
So many diverse East End characters passing by and never failing to stop and show respect for the King Of Bacon St.
An audience with the Pope how utterly enthralling what an honour and boy oh boy can Charlie Burns go down Memeory Lane and tell his stories of times gone by.
Carol Burns is a tough chip off the block that never misses a trick.
She often plays her ‘I dont know anything’ card but believe me she is so clued up and wise to most.

Keep writing and fill he world in with all this wonderful buzz of the Lane.

It was April 2000, when i moved in next to this old man yard. My Land Lord told me that next door are very nice people. It was my first introduction with Burns family.
When ever i went to that side of bacon street i saw old man sitting and sharing his food with his lovely cat Micky sitting next to him.it was routine to say hello to both of them.

But it was not until July 2004 when i met old man closely.
I lost my job and was worried about new one.Next day i was passing through when old man noticed that expression of worry on my face.

He asked me if i need help?, he asked me if i need money?. I thanked to old man and told him that its not money , its about job that i am worried about.
Old man than send me to a Stationary wholesaler , when i gave them Charlie reference, i got job on spot. I learn later there was no vacancy but it was charlie reference that they honored. Even one old employee complaint later that he is asking for his brother job for long time, but they refused because of no vacancy available.

That day of July 2004 will always stay in my memory. In today’s world how many of us cares , that why are you worried for?. Specially when you don’t know some one.

It’s great to see a true Eastender still working in Brick Lane. This man has seen so much history going on in the East End. It’s just a shame that all He has seen is the East End. He has worked 7 days a week for probabaly all his life and made work his No1 priority. The best thing that Charlie Burns ever did was marry a fantastic, lovely, kind ,honest, caring Lady My Nan Sarah Burns.

What a wonderful story,I too was born and bred in Stepney and lived all my life in Great
Eastern Bldgs opposite Trumans Brewery theres no other place like it true east enders are
diamonds give you the earth if they could they say it like it is and call a spade a spade.
I moved out in 1986 and though Ive lived in Surrey all these years its stories and pictures
like these that keep my memories of the east end alive.

CHARLIE BURNS, I am so pleased to read that he is still going strong, he was a friend of my father who died some years ago, I met Charlie lots of times, the first time he lent me the money to start my own business, ( I wonder how many over the years he did this for), he deserves every accolade that any man can be given for being a really good and nice person, all the best Charlie and may you have many more years.

thank you so much mr burns for sharing your memories with us of brick lane as a little girl my dad use to take me down there i use to love it . mr burns is a true eastender now ive moved out of london to basildon there is alot of the older generation here i do volunteer work with age concern and i just love listening to them and there memories of the eastend so thank you again

What a lovely piece on one the greatest characters I’ve known virtually all of my working life. I met Charlie over 20 years ago when I began working for Land Securities. I’ve not seen him for years but still employ his boys for work that I know will be done professionally,courteously and on time, every time. I always ask about Charlie and speak to Carol sometimes. The whole of the Burns family are lovely real people – something you don’t always find these days. Charlie (and any of his family) is just one of the people in life that you meet that if you’d never met him, you’d be the one missing out. Long may he reign, is what I say x

charlie is a great character i fitted a lot of my house out with some of his gems! never ending supplies of loo roll and other extremely useful items one of the great traders…i still love popping in to see the place and what surprises it might hold

My name is Charlie Wilson I used to work in Blackmans shoe shop in Cheshire Street, Charlie used to call me Jock I worked their for 15 years, Charlie could get you anything you wanted or tell you where you could get it I know his boys and Carol well, I live in Thailand now I have even met people over here who talk about Charlie my best wishes to all the Burns family,

My ex husbands nan and Sarah were sisters and I met Charlie & Carol quite a few times over the years, I remember Carol very well and with great fondness she was a good laugh and as down to earth as they come, we had her son James to stay with us when Auntie Sarah came down to Wales to vist nana once and he was a joy and i’ve often wondered what happened to him.

I heard all the old stories about brick lane from nana who used to go and stay quite reguarly with Charlie & Sarah and used to come back laden with goodies from what I think was called the Persian market, I never got to vist them but my mother & father in law did now & again, I seem to remember my brother in law Alan staying with them and loving that they lived near some sports ground.

I remember when Charlie came down and found out I was learning to drive he offered me a mini if I wanted to go and collect it, never ever passed my test but I still remember his kindness, he could be a bit brash but was a very generous person, hope he’s still doing ok.

R.I.P GRANDAD CHARLIE BURNS. HE WAS A HARD MAN I WORKED WITH HIM FROM A YOUNG KID HE WAS A REAL MONEY GETTER AND GREAT BUSINESS MAN HE NEVER STOPPED WORKING . I HAVE A GREAT BUSINESS AND GREAT FAMILY VALUES AND ALWAYS REFER TO CHARLIE AS A BUSINESS ROLE MODEL IN MY LIFE .GREAT MEMORIES THANK YOU XX

Many years ago I was good mates with Carol , and spent many hours at the ‘yard’, in the company of Charlie and Co….with some very good memories .
My thoughts are with the family at this sad time
R.I.P. Charlie.

I was ten yeas old, Charlie burns gave me a job working down the yard on a Sunday, I will never forget him for the valuable lesson that he taught me. One Sunday I was sitting down,well there were no customers….. Charlie shouted what you doing I don’t pay you to sit down. Sweep the floor so I said ” I have already swept the floor” “sweep it again” he said. Im not paying you to sit down. I didnt get why on earth I would sweep a clean floor. But I get it now xxxxx

RIP Uncle Charlie – I worked for my Aunty Carol (who is actually my dad Brian’s cousin) down the yard when I was about 12 and loved it! Charlie was always keeping an eye on things. I liked going to Uncle Charlie and Aunt Sarah’s house as she always used to tell me that my Nan Rose would have loved me (she died before I was born)

living away in Norfolk, I lost touch with the people I grew up with (Carol) on the Collingwood estate, and it’s many years since I have been back. Charlie was such a great personality and one of life’s true gentlemen I have such fond memories of him and his family. He gave me my first job on a Sunday when I was 11 years old, and it was a pleasure to see him work the crowds of shoppers in the market. I am the better for having known him, and the East End will never have another like him.

Called in today from the depths of North Essex to find sadly, that Charlie had passed away. We were looking forward to a chat in the car with Charle. A real character and one of the original and best eastenders. Our condolences go out to Carol and Bernie and all other family members we have not met. Our future visits will not be the same. x

I feel honoured to have had the pleasure of knowing this man.(and his family from the boxing connections at St Monicas and The Repton)……I used to fly about Brick Lane up to no good….and he knew it……
“Oi Davey…you behave yaself ”
and I took notice……….what a lovely man….what you saw is what you got, a typical old skool gent….no frills and no bull……just a diamond.
God Bless Fella.
x x x

Godbless Uncle Charlie, RIP……….I remember visiting you & Carol in the factory with my son Josh & husband John in 1998 visiting from Australia, what a laugh with you and Uncle Harry a true East End experience.

I remember Charlie well he used to pick up waste paper from my office I was the young cockney girl thirty years ago that sat at the reception desk. He always cracked a joke and took the micky out of my very posh boss that made quite an impact on me as it made me realise that my boss was just the same as everybody else. RIP xx

This man has made me the woman I am today!
Such an inspiration, he always encouraged me to work hard for whatever I wanted as nothing ever come easy or for free.
My Granddad was and still is a very respected man, one of a kind and you will never get a legend like him again.
I hope I am doing you proud Granddad, we miss you like mad!
See you on the other side, I bet your even working 7 days a week up there!!

I could sit here and write forever with stories about you, sleep tight xxxxx

The best days of my life was living and playing in Bethnal Green when i was a kid.
I lived on the corner of Kerbella Street and Busby Street, where we had a coal shop, just opposite Bacon Street.
I always remember Charlie with fond memories. He was a hard and shrewd business man, but an extremely kind person to anybody in need. I would go as far as to say he was the best loved character in the East End of London.

My dad Terry was a policeman along Brick Lane and I had the pleasure of knowing Charlie and his wife. My dad also happen to be on dialysis at the Royal London for over 30 years. At one point dad was in hospital for 6 months and every Sunday so my brother and I didn’t have to spend all day at the hospital and dad and Charlie got on really well – so we use to spend the day with them both. I know mum and dad were so grateful to them both. Carol if you read this mum still talks about all of you with such fond memories. A great family

Only just heard the sad news about Charlie I’m from south London and met Charlie as a teenager almost 30 years ago whilst working in BT stores in Holborn his boy’s were porters moving office furniture Eddie bernie and davey wonderful man generous kind and witty his sons were great people as well as credit to him

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